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infamous/notorious INFAMOUS/NOTORIOUS “Infamous” means famous in a bad way. It is related to the word “infamy.” Humorists have for a couple of centuries jokingly used the word in a positive sense, but the effectiveness of the joke depends on the listener knowing that this is a misuse of the term. Because this is a very old joke indeed you should stick to using “infamous” only of people like Hitler and Billy the Kid. “ Notorious” means the same thing as “infamous” and should also only be used in a negative sense. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/infamous.html03/09/2005 15:38:33 infinite INFINITE When Shakespeare’s Enobarbus said of Cleopatra that “age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety,” he was obviously exaggerating. So few are the literal uses of “infinite” that almost every use of it is metaphorical. There are not an infinite number of possible positions on a chessboard, nor number of stars in the universe. Things can be innumerable (in one sense of the word) without being infinite; in other words, things which are beyond the human capacity to count them can still be limited in number. “Infinite” has its uses as a loose synonym for “a very great many,” but it is all too often lazily used when one doesn’t want to do the work to discover the order of magnitude involved. When you are making quasi-scientific statements you do a disservice to your reader by implying infinity when mere billions are involved. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/infinite.html03/09/2005 15:38:33 inflammable INFLAMMABLE “Inflammable” means the same thing as “flammable”: burnable, capable of being ignited or inflamed. So many people mistake the “in-” prefix as a negative, however, that it has been largely abandoned as a warning label. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/inflammable.html03/09/2005 15:38:33 influencial/influential INFLUENCIAL INFLUENTIAL If you have influence, you are “influential,” not “influencial.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/influencial.html03/09/2005 15:38:33 input INPUT Some people object to “input” as computer jargon that’s proliferated unjustifiably in the business world. Be aware that it’s not welcome in all settings; but whatever you do, don’t misspell it “imput.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/input.html03/09/2005 15:38:34 install/instill INSTALL/INSTILL People conjure up visions of themselves as upgradable robots when they write things like “My Aunt Tillie tried to install the spirit of giving in my heart.” The word they are searching for is “instill.” You install equipment, you instill feelings or attitudes. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/install.html03/09/2005 15:38:34 instances/instants INSTANCES/INSTANTS Brief moments are “instants,” and examples of anything are “instances.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/instances.html03/09/2005 15:38:35 intensifiers INTENSIFIERS People are always looking for ways to emphasize how really, really special the subject under discussion is. (The use of “really” is one of the weakest and least effective of these.) A host of words have been worn down in this service to near-meaninglessness. It is good to remember the etymological roots of such words to avoid such absurdities as "fantastically realistic,” “absolutely relative,” and “incredibly convincing.” When you are tempted to use one of these vague intensifiers consider rewriting your prose to explain more precisely and vividly what you mean: “Fred’s cooking was incredibly bad” could be changed to “When I tasted Fred’s cooking I almost thought I was back in the middle-school cafeteria.” See also “ Incredible” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/intensifiers.html03/09/2005 15:38:35 interment/internment INTERMENT/INTERNMENT Interment is burial; internment is merely imprisonment. List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/interment.html03/09/2005 15:38:35 Internet/intranet INTERNET/INTRANET “Internet” is the proper name of the network most people connect to, and the word needs to be capitalized. However “intranet,” a network confined to a smaller group, is a generic term which does not deserve capitalization. In advertising, we often read things like “unlimited Internet, $19.” It would be more accurate to refer in this sort of context to “Internet access.” List of errors file:///C|/Temp/livres/commonerrors/errors/internet.html03/09/2005 15:38:36